The present invention relates to the field of water systems and, more particularly, to the maintenance of water systems, modifying water within such systems, and related methods.
The habitability of any commercial or residential facility depends critically on maintaining an adequate supply of water to the facility. Such facilities generally require a continuous supply of clean water that runs both hot and cold according to the demands of individual users. An interruption in the supply of water can pose a tremendous hardship even in a single-family home. In the context of a facility such as an office building or hotel, however, the problems arising from an interruption in the water supply are compounded significantly. With respect to an office building, an interruption in the supply of water to the facility can force a temporary closing of the facility resulting in unexpected costs and delays in the operation of the businesses of the facility""s occupants. The problem can be even more severe for a hotel or motel. Not only will the facility have to turn away any new guests until the interruption is cured, but more troubling, the interruption is likely to sorely test the patience of those already staying in the facility. The real harm, is not so much the irrate reaction of those occupants having to go without water, as it is the denigration of the reputation of the entity or chain running the facility. In stark terms, the weary traveler who has checked into a hotel or motel after a long day of travel only to have to go without hot running water is unlikely to stay again at that hotel or motel or any other associated with it.
In general, facilities such as office buildings, apartment buildings, hotels and motels rely on an external source for their supply of water. These facilities, however, usually rely on their own water heaters to heat the water received. If there is a breakdown or failure of a facility""s water heater, the facility is left without any means for heating water even though water can still be obtained from the external source. Thus, notwithstanding a ready supply of water, the facility will be without hot running water until the water heater can be prepared. If the water heater must be replaced, or if repair must await the arrival of a critical component, the facility will be without hot running water for a prolonged period of time. In the interim, there is little that a building, apartment, hotel or motel manager can do except endure the complaints of occupants forced to do without hot water. An even more troubling scenario would occur if the external source became contaminated with bacteria or was beset by some other problem requiring treatment of the water before it could be used. Because most facilities do not have their own water treatment capabilities, the occupants of the facility would, as in the case of a broken water heater, simply have to go without water until such time as the water from the source could be cured of any defect. Again, even though the facility would have access to a supply of water the occupants would for all intents and purposes be without water until such time as the water could be treated.
Supplemental water supplies suggested for use in various other contexts are of little or no value in addressing the problem of interruption of the water supply to a facility such as an office building, apartment, hotel, or motel. Even with respect to a single-family facility, conventional methods are likely in many cases to be inadequate to deal with such mishaps as a breakdown in the facility""s water heater or deterioration in the condition of the water obtained from an external source. U.S. Pat. No. 5,950,662 to Scott titled Supplemental Water Supply, for example, discloses mobile delivery of purified water to a residential dwelling with a conventional tap water system. The intended purpose is to provide dwellers an alternative to the undesirable tastes and smells of tap water. The quantity of water deliverable with such a tank truck, however, is clearly insufficient to meet the demands of a multiple unit facility such as an office building, apartment, hotel, or motel. Even for a single-family dwelling experiencing an extended interruption in the supply of water from an external source, intermittent deliveries of water with a system such as the one disclosed by Scott would likely be cost prohibitive depending on how prolonged the interruption were to last.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,893,341 to Cox titled Mobile Pool Heating Apparatus, for example, discloses heating he water in a swimming pool, hot tub, or similar facility using a temporary water heater that is transported by a truck that also carries a water pump. As with a system such as the one disclosed in Scott, however, the system described in Cox is ill-suited for dealing with an interruption in the water supplied to a facility from an external source. To be operative, this type of system requires a readily available on-site source of water to heat. For a facility that is supplied by an external water source, however, there will be no on-site water source to utilize. Moreover, this type of system does not provide any mechanism for maintaining a continuous, controlled flow of modified water as would be required for a facility such as an office building, hotel, motel or even a residential dwelling. With a system such as the one disclosed by Cox, the water simply flows from the pool through a heater and back to the pool. U.S. Pat. No. 5,547,584 to Capehart titled Transportable, Self-Contained Water Purification System and Method discloses purifying water using a water purifier that can be towed to a remote site, but which, as with the system disclosed by Cox, requires ready access to an available water supply at the site. Moreover, as with all such systems, there is no ability to provide a continuous, controlled supply of water from a source removed from the site.
These and other conventional systems and devices do not provide a rapid and efficient means for overcoming an interruption in the supply of water to a facility that results whenever a facility water heater or a source filtering unit breaks down or the water becomes otherwise unusable. Conventional systems and devices require at least an open, on-site water source (e.g., a pool) from which to draw water. Otherwise, the water must be transported to the site for treatment. These systems, moreover, lack the capability to quickly replace a water system at a facility or provide a continuous, large volume supply of water to the facility. There remains, therefore, a need for a system that in rapid response to an interruption in the supply of water to a facility can access an external source of waterxe2x80x94even one far removed from the facilityxe2x80x94and quickly heat, filter, or otherwise modify the water so that it can be provided to the facility.
In view of the foregoing background, the present invention advantageously provides a system and methods for rapidly and efficiently remedying an interruption in the supply of water to a facility. Specifically, the present invention provides a system that quickly and efficiently connects to any pipe structure extending between the facility and an external source, diverts the water from the external source to a water modifier, modifies the water, and then distributes the water to the facility. This ensures that any interruption in the supply of water to the facility will be minimized. An interrupted supply of water to a facility can be resumed in only the time needed to transport the system to a point of access to the pipe structure, connect to the pipe system, and modify the first units of water. Moreover, by readily connecting to the pipe structure extending between the facility and the external source, the system obviates the need for an on-site source of water or, alternatively, the time and expense of transporting water to the site of the facility. This capability is particularly advantageous in the context of responding to an interruption in the water supply to a high-use facility such as an office building, apartment complex, hotel, motel, or restaurant where a large amount of water must be supplied on a virtually continuous basis.
Relatedly, the system provides a valuable adjunct to conventional water system repair operations. Specifically, when the facility must be taken off-line so as to permit the repair or replacement of a water heater, for example, the system can respond by diverting water from the external source to the system so that water from the source can be rapidly heated and supplied to the facility. The facility water heater thus can be repaired or replaced virtually without interruption in the supply of hot water to the facility.
The present invention, more particularly, provides a mobile water modifying system that is adapted to be quickly and efficiently interconnected to the plumbing or pipe structure extending between a facility and a water source (e.g., water plant) so that water can be diverted from the source to a water modifier for modification before it is supplied to the facility. The system preferably includes a water modifier positioned on a mobile platform. Preferably the water modifier includes a fluid chamber having an inlet through which water is received and an outlet through which water is conveyed. More preferably, the water modifier includes a plurality of such chambers in fluid communication with a separate water processor. This arrangement facilitates rapid and efficient water modification by permitting water to be rapidly supplied from the source into a chamber, then transferred to the water processor for modification, and transferred anew to a fluid chamber for continuous, controlled supply to the facility. More specifically, water can be treated or modified (e.g., heated or purified) and transferred to a fluid chamber so that it is available on-demand by a water user at the facility. Simultaneously, the system can be modifying more water, while at least one chamber holds additional water to be supplied on-demand to the facility. Thus, the system provides a kind of water processing assembly line using the plurality of chambers and associated water processor.
A pump can be included in the system to transfer water between the water processor and respective fluid chambers. More generally, however, the system can rely on the water pressure supplied by the external source (e.g., water plant) and associated plumbing or pipe structure to facilitate the movement of water between the source, system, and facility.
The water processor itself can be a water heating or cooling unit or any type of water treatment device (e.g., filter). Preferably, theses various types of processors are interchangeable. Thus, according to the present invention, the system can be adapted to respond to different kinds of interruptions in the water supply to a facility. For example, if there is a breakdown of the water heater at the facility, a water heater can be mounted on the mobile platform along with a plurality of fluid chambers. If a water supply interruption occurs as a result of a problem of a different nature, the water processor can be changed so as to accommodate the particular need. For example, if a chemical or bacterial agent were found at the source, then rather than shut down the facility, the source water could be diverted to the mobile system on which a water filter had been mounted to purify the water for use at the facility.
As alluded to above, a further advantage provided by the present invention pertains to the capability to easily and efficiently access a water source external to the facility by connecting to the plumbing or pipe structure extending between the source and the facility. Preferably, the mobile system connects to the external source by identifying a location along the pipe structure between the facility and the source, removing a section of pipe, and installing a connector. For example, if there is a breakdown in a facility""s water heater, then a connector would be interposed into the water network by connecting to the cold and water lines independently in the following manner: first, flow of water along the lines is cut off, sections of the lines are cut out, and then, at each removed section, a connector is installed. Each connector preferably includes an in-line hollow portion having opposing open ends that connect, respectively, to the two open portions of pipe formed by removing a section.
More preferably, each such connector also includes a hollow cross-line portion in fluid communication with the in-line portion and extending outwardly therefrom in a direction substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the in-line portion. The end of the cross-line portion of each connector, moreover, is open and adapted to connect to a tube. More preferably, one or more valves are positioned substantially at the respective ends of the in-line portion and at the end of the cross-line portion to thereby define a connector having three fluid direction control valves: an in-line inlet valve, a in-line outlet valve, and a cross-line outlet valve. The plurality of valves on each connector permit optimal control of the water flow so as to accommodate water pressure levels.
The present invention provides methods for providing modified water on an emergency or temporary basis. According to the present invention, water supplied to a preconstructed facility from an external water supply can be modified by interconnecting a water modifier to a water pipe structure linking the preconstructed facility to the external water supply. Water is then diverted from the water supply to the water modifier. The water so diverted is modified and then conveyed to the preconstructed facility. Moreover, the present invention also provides an efficient method of repairing a preconstructed facility water modifier. This method entails diverting water from an external water supply to a temporary water modifier and modifying the water so diverted from the water supply using the temporary water modifier. The water, once modified, is then conveyed to the preconstructed facility. While water is being diverted, the preconstructed facility water modifier can be repaired or replaced as needed.